Ruling government will not dissolve early

The government will not dissolve six weeks prior to the completion of its tenure, says Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley.

The announcement was made by Lyonchhoen at the last Meet the Press session on Monday. The government will dissolve on the 20th of April as originally planned.

Lyonchhoen explained that the early dissolution was called off, primarily, due to the possibility that the new political parties might not be ready for elections.

The new political parties have welcomed the government’s decision to dissolve only upon completion of its term. The Druk Chirwang Tshogpa said it will get more time to finalize its candidates, and the Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party although welcoming the government’s move, has said the decision warrants strong justification.

The Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa echoes the Prime Minister’s concerns over elections taking place during the monsoon when farmers are busy. They believe this could affect voter participation.

One reason for the proposal of early dissolution of the DPT government was to avoid elections falling at the height of the farming season. Lyonchhoen said at the Meet the Press, “Farmers will have to be involved in three elections, it is not only about coming to the polls three times but also having to listen to various parties and various candidates…they will have to choose whether to go about doing their agricultural work, or attending political meetings and the voting process.”

Lyonchhoen explained to the reporters at the session that the government had sought for early dissolution to also enable the new government to pass its first year’s annual budget during the first session of parliament, and to prepare the budget within the framework of the five year plan.